ONE of the best-bred horses in training won the Listed Best Odds Guaranteed For Tote Account Holders Eyrefield Stakes over nine furlongs at Leopardstown last Sunday, a performance that earned an immediate quote of 20/1 for the 2016 Investec Derby.

Should the undefeated Jim Bolger-trained colt take the world’s most famous classic at Epsom in June then Moonlight Magic would not only be the third son of Kildangan Stud stallion Cape Cross (by Green Desert) to achieve the feat, but also the third member of his immediate family to do so.

The Darley-bred bay is a half-brother to the Group 1-placed Group 2 scorer and young Haras du Logis stallion Masterstroke (by Monsun), and also to the pattern-placed stakes winning filly Hidden Gold (by Shamardal), and his dam is the Oaks-placed listed scorer Melikah (by Lammtarra).

That makes him a grandson of the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Urban Sea (by Miswaki), one of the greatest broodmares of all time.

Her son Galileo (by Sadler’s Wells) was a dual Derby winner in 2001 before going on to become one of the world’s great sires, and in 2009 his half-brother Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross) took six consecutive Group 1s, including the 2000 Guineas, Derby, and Arc, before becoming the sire of the classic stars Sea The Moon and Taghrooda with his first crop. Black Sam Bellamy (by Sadler’s Wells) and My Typhoon (by Giant’s Causeway) also won at the highest level, Urban Ocean (by Bering) took a Group 3 contest, both All Too Beautiful (by Sadler’s Wells; dam of dual Oaks-placed stakes winner Wonder Of Wonders, by Kingmambo) and popular young stallion Born To Sea (by Invincible Spirit) are classic-placed blacktype scorers, and non-winner Cherry Hinton (by Green Desert) is the pattern-placed dam of 2014’s Group 1 Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet (by Montjeu).

This phenomenal family’s classic connections are also strong among Urban Sea’s siblings as her talented half-sister Allez Les Trois (by Riverman) is the dam of the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) winner Anabaa Blue (by Anabaa), and her half-brother King’s Best (by Kingmambo) is the 2000 Guineas-winning sire of 2010’s Derby and Arc hero Workforce. Right now Moonlight Magic is just a twice-raced listed scorer, but with his connections and pedigree, there is every reason to think that this three-parts brother to Sea The Stars could be on the verge of a major career.